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Python Automation Cookbook

You're reading from   Python Automation Cookbook Explore the world of automation using Python recipes that will enhance your skills

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Product type Paperback
Published in Sep 2018
Publisher Packt
ISBN-13 9781789133806
Length 398 pages
Edition 1st Edition
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Author (1):
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Jaime Buelta Jaime Buelta
Author Profile Icon Jaime Buelta
Jaime Buelta
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Table of Contents (12) Chapters Close

Preface 1. Let Us Begin Our Automation Journey FREE CHAPTER 2. Automating Tasks Made Easy 3. Building Your First Web Scraping Application 4. Searching and Reading Local Files 5. Generating Fantastic Reports 6. Fun with Spreadsheets 7. Developing Stunning Graphs 8. Dealing with Communication Channels 9. Why Not Automate Your Marketing Campaign? 10. Debugging Techniques 11. Other Books You May Enjoy

Setting up a cron job

Cron is an old-fashioned but reliable way of executing commands. It has been around since the 70s in Unix, and it's an old favorite in system administration to perform maintenance, such as freeing space, rotating logs, making backups, and other common operations.

This recipe is Unix-specific, so it will work in Linux and MacOS. While it's possible to schedule a task in Windows, it's very different and uses Task Scheduler, which won't be described here. If you have access to a Linux server, it can be a good way of scheduling periodic tasks.
The main advantages are as follows:
  • It's present in virtually all Unix or Linux systems and configured to run automatically.
  • It's easy to use, though a little deceptive.
  • It's well-known. Almost anyone involved with admin tasks will have a general idea on how to use it.
  • It allows for easy...
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